The "Noble Savage"

The passage I chose this week came from the debate of whether or not Gulliver could stay among the Houyhnhnms. It’s starts with the last sentence on page 156 and continues into the entire first paragraph on page 157.

I’m currently in an Intro to American Indian & Native Studies class and I saw many parallels between what I read in the last section of the book and their relations with the English. In this quote, Gulliver’s master talks about his transformation in Houyhnhnm; he essentially describes a “noble savage”. He said Gulliver was rid of his dispositions as far as his inferior nature would allow. This situation is much similar to when the English arrived in America. They saw the natives as naturally inferior, incapable of change. They categorized the Indians just like the distinction of “Yahoos” and Gulliver. There were “savages” and “noble savages”. The “noble savages” were obedient and even showed some interest in learning their culture and religion. However, just like what happened to Gulliver, they weren’t accepted into the European culture. The irony here is the role reversal with the Houyhnhnms. The horses seem like the American Indian culture, they are very in tune with nature and they are peaceful creatures. However, unlike the natives of America, the Houyhnhnms are in charge. This leaves the English to be the barbarians. Yet, I believe this is how they should be truly described. Their ways of dealing with the natives were extremely barbaric and it makes sense why Gulliver detests the Yahoo culture after his many voyages.